OpenAI engineer reveals how candidates can get hired in a single week

It’s no secret that big tech companies are desperate to hire engineers. We’ve already heard about companies poaching talent to form a strong team with billion-dollar contracts to compete in the AI race. The reports also indicate that the companies have focused not only on the packages, but also on the hiring process, with candidates potentially going from an initial recruiter outreach to a signed offer in as little as a week.

Survey

Jerene Yang, who leads a synthetic data generation team at OpenAI, shared details of her recruitment experience on a recent episode of the AI Across Borders podcast. Yang stated that the process stood out for its speed, clarity, and lack of unnecessary rounds, especially compared to traditional big-tech hiring timelines.

Add As A Trusted Source For Google.

Add as a preferred source on Google

Yang, who joined OpenAI’s San Francisco office in October 2024 after working as a senior engineering manager at Google, said her recruitment began with a recruiter message early in the week. An initial discussion with the hiring manager and technical leadership followed almost immediately, with a full-day interview round scheduled soon after.

Yang received an offer and accepted it shortly after finishing interviews, completing the entire process in a single workweek. A “technical deep dive” or “research discussion” is a key component of OpenAI interviews, according to Yang. Candidates are encouraged to present work that they have personally built, explain the challenges, and walk through design decisions and tradeoffs. The format is intended to assess deep thinking rather than surface knowledge, while also providing candidates with insight into their interviewers’ expertise.

Along with technical competence, Yang stated that OpenAI places a high value on efficiency. Along with multiple projects running concurrently, all employees are expected to prioritise work where they can add the most value while avoiding unnecessary complexity. Familiarity with automation and effective use of AI tools is also considered a significant advantage.

According to OpenAI’s interview guidelines, candidates typically go through resume screening, introductory conversations, role-specific assessments, and the final interview stage. The final round typically lasts four to six hours, spread out over one or two days, and is designed to push candidates beyond their comfort zones while evaluating problem-solving ability, communication skills, and collaboration.

Follow Us

Ashish Singh

Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile